Tag Archives: review

I’ve never understood why many people always have this vendetta against Coldplay. Of all the ridiculous and horrible music that’s out there today on the radio, Coldplay is the one that deserves so much criticism?

Coldplay's fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto, October 2011.

My defense for Coldplay is a result of this article by Claire Suddath from Time Magazine, “Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto: Do I hate Coldplay or Just Think I Do?” First she starts off by saying she didn’t like one of Coldplay’s first hits, “Yellow,” because it was “too sweet, too comforting.” Then a few paragraphs later her first complaint: “Chris Martin appears to have written every lyric while weeping hysterically.” Apparently weeping hysterically while writing lyrics creates something that is also sweet and comforting.

Yes, their single is called “Every Teardrop is A Waterfall,” but that’s a broad generalization for the rest of the album. She also mentions listening to the album in “Coldplay-friendly situations,” which is apparently wherever anyone wants to be a loner. I’m a pretty positive person, and I consider Coldplay to have a good mix of upbeat melodies and slower serious songs. I don’t listen to it because I want to feel lonely and emo–I listen to it when I want to feel inspired.

Another complaint from the review: Their songs are designed to be sung in unison by thousands of people holding lighters. Who doesn’t love a good lighter-waving concert? First people complain about Coldplay being too depressing and “weepy,” but last time I checked “lighter-waving” (or phone-holding) concerts were pretty uplifting and entertaining. That’s fine if you don’t always want serious music, but one band can’t and shouldn’t try to be everything. I appreciate the fact that I can always count on Coldplay to have a sense of continuity in their music throughout all their albums, while bringing something a little different each time.

What’s wrong with people today? When did inspiring poetry about the human condition become not good enough? Maybe we should spend less time tearing down musicians who are dedicated to their art, and spend more time criticizing the ones who glorify money, sex, and cough syrup.

Viva La Vida album cover, December 2010.

My top 10 Coldplay songs:

1. “Fix You”- X &Y

2. “Green Eyes”- A Rush of Blood to the Head

3. “Lost?” – Viva La Vida, bonus track

4. “Paradise” – Mylo Xyloto

5. “Us Against the World” – Mylo Xyloto

6. “Life in Technicolor ii” – Viva La Vida (Prospekt’s March)

7. “The Scientist” – A Rush of Blood to the Head

8. “Strawberry Swing” – Viva La Vida

9. “Daylight” – A Rush of Blood to the Head

10. “Warning Sign” – A Rush of Blood to the Head

Fix You

Lights will guide you home And ignite your bones And I will try to fix you

Green Eyes

Honey you are a rock Upon which I stand And I come here to talk I hope you understand

That green eyes, yeah the spotlight, shines upon you And how could, anybody, deny you

I came here with a load And it feels so much lighter, now I’ve met you And honey you should know, that I could never go on without you

Green eyes

Honey you are the sea Upon which I float And I came here to talk I think you should know

That green eyes, you’re the one that I wanted to find And anyone who, tried to deny you must be out of their mind

My fiance and his roommates like to watch a show called The Walking Dead, a new tv show on AMC based on a comic book series. It’s basically about people trying to flee flesh-eating zombies in a post-apocalyptic world–something I would avoid watching at all costs. Despite the show’s ridiculous zombie precedent (real original), it does somewhat remind me of one of my favorite shows of all time–Lost. It attempts to explore human nature and the problems we all encounter even in a post-apocalyptic world. Although the show does touch on some analysis of human emotion and the basic elements of human life, the contrast between the utterly unrealistic nature of limping zombies and the attempt to analyze human survival is too much to take the show seriously.

The Walking Dead does not explain how these people become zombies or the nature of their threat, like how they manage to kill everyone while stumbling around at less than 5 mph. The show lacks a thorough story line to back up the real threat of these zombies. The gore of zombie attacks continue to be a large part of the show–distracting from the exploration of fundamental human emotions and needs in an apocalyptic world. The show needs a little less time on gore makeup and some more on writing and acting.